Gadsden commercial development improves in 2012

Sunday

Dec 30, 2012 at 10:02 PMDec 30, 2012 at 10:03 PM

Some new businesses opened in Gadsden in 2012, but the focus, according to Gadsden Commercial Development Authority Director Lesa Osborn, was on maintaining, rebuilding and relocating existing businesses.

BY ANDY POWELLTimes Staff Writer

Some new businesses opened in Gadsden in 2012, but the focus, according to Gadsden Commercial Development Authority Director Lesa Osborn, was on maintaining, rebuilding and relocating existing businesses.Kmart closing its East Gadsden location early in the year was a blow, Osborn said, but she is working with the family members that own the 9.9-acre site to redevelop the property. She said a number of developers have expressed interest in the location.Kmart, which closed a number of stores nationwide, shut down its location on Alabama Highway 77 in 2009.A validation hearing was held in August on a development incentives package for the River Trace project. The court OK’d the incentives the Gadsden City Council approved in November 2011 for Blackwater Resources’ planned 180,000-square-foot development. The Gadsden City Council approved incentives of sales tax rebates totaling up to $10 million over 15 years, beginning after the development is 75 percent occupied.Blackwater has said it will spend $30 million on the development and projects annual sales of $30 million. It will develop about 28 acres of the 100-acre River Trace Golf Course.John Abernathy, senior developer with Blackwater, in an interview earlier this month said work on the project site should begin in late spring. He said some stores should open in the summer of 2014. That’s a change in the announced propection, but Abernathy said the firm remains close to its initial plans.The development is expected to include about 20 stores and restaurants. Abernathy said announcements of tenants won’t be made until construction begins and will come from the retailers themselves.Osborn said GCDA worked for two years with Back Forty Brewery, which opened in January. It employs 25 people and has hosted several large events.The Shoe Show moved to a location in the Gadsden Mall vacated in December by The Gap and reopened as Encore, the company’s higher-end store. Justice for Girls opened in October in The Shoe Show’s old space.Osborn said about 3,000 square feet remains to be rented in the mall from those moves.She said Jos. A. Bank, which opened in September 2011 in the mall, is doing better that corporate officials had anticipated.Several restaurants opened or moved in 2012, according to Osborn.McDonald’s on Rainbow Drive rebuilt its restaurant, and Jack’s relocated its Noccalula Falls restaurant and moved its downtown location to East Gadsden on George Wallace Drive.Sky’s Restaurant also opened at the former Warehouse location on South Second Street, and Super Hibachi Grill located in the former Ryan’s location on Rainbow Drive.The Fish Market Restaurant moved to a new location on Rainbow Drive. Osborn said she has been working with Darden Restaurants and Dr. Sanjay Singh, the property owner, on a LongHorn Steakhouse that will locate at the former Fish Market site. She said GCDA convinced Darden to modify its national restaurant design for LongHorn to better utilize the river location, and it will be only the second LongHorn in the U.S. to offer outdoor dining.Also in 2012, the Gregerson family opened a new grocery store, Cash Saver, in the Midtown Plaza. Mattresss Firm purchased the former Blockbuster location on East Meighan and redid the building for its use.Osborn said Nissan of Gadsden is redoing its dealership on Rainbow Drive to meet corporate requirements.Her top priorities for 2013 are the River Trace development, redevelopment of the Kmart property, the development of other commercial property in the city and retaining existing businesses.

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